(Brief) Thoughts on The Incredibles 2

After what seems like an eternity (roughly a month after it made its debut in the US) The Incredibles 2 has finally opened in the UK – hurrah! I didn’t get chance to see The Incredibles 2 over the weekend, as I was too busy with a double-bill of The Secret of Marrowbone and Skyscraper, so tonight I finally got to watch this long-awaiting Disney/Pixar sequel.

Now ordinarily I would feel compelled to write down my thoughts in some kind of detail, highlighting what I did and didn’t like about the movie. However, as The Incredibles 2 has been on release across the world for sometime now and I have nothing negative to say about the movie, I’m just going to jot down a few key points to get to the nitty-gritty.

Below are my very, very brief thoughts on The Incredibles 2. For ease, I’ve listed them!

Elastigirl – I loved the fact that Elastigirl was given the lion’s share of the story. Elastigirl is visually a more interesting character than Mr. Incredible so it made sense to place her front-and-centre. Plus, we got to see a great action scene with the train sequence.

Jack-Jack – The youngest member of the Parr family stole every scene he was in. Great stuff!

Edna Mode – Another scene-stealing character. Edna might have had limited screentime, but she certainly made up for it.

Frozone – Frozone was cool. I have nothing much to add other than to say I just love how cool Frozone was. No pun intended. He was simply badass!

Visually stunning – The 14-year gap between The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2 allowed for an upgrade in animation quality and it really showed.

Action-a-plenty – The great thing about The Incredibles movies is the way that director Brad Bird manages to juggle story with super heroics. As with the original movie, the sequel was loaded with action scenes that offered drama and spectacle, while never stifling the story.

Fresh – When The Incredibles first hit cinema screens in 2004, the world was more than familiar with super hero stories, but we hadn’t hit peak saturation. With The Incredibles 2 opening in 2018 it’s fair to say everyone and their mum knows a thing or two about super heroes, so The Incredibles 2 could have easily felt like it was treading water – yet, it didn’t! The Incredibles 2 felt fresh, with a story that offered something fun and accessible for all.

The music – Michael Giacchino’s bombastic score was the PERFECT accompaniment to The Incredibles 2. At times it reminded me of Elliot Goldenthal’s score to the Joel Schumacher Batman movies. I realise that not everyone is a fan of the Schumacher Batman movies, but I really like them and they sound great. The Incredibles 2 sounded great.

More – At the conclusion of The Incredibles 2 I was left feeling as though I wanted more. Whether that’s another movie or a spin-off TV series, there’s a lot more scope for The Incredibles/Parr family. A lot more. Come on Disney/Pixar, make it happen.

Oh and a special mention must also go to Bao – the animated short that accompanied The Incredibles 2. Bao was delightful.

All-in-all, I loved The Incredibles 2. It was certainly worth the wait.